Chest and means for locking the same.



GLPULLARA.

CHEST AND MEANS FOR LOCKING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 22, i916.

Patented Apr. 3,1917.

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G. PULLARA.

CHEST AND MEANS FOR LOCKING THE SAME.

APPLICATION'FILED AUG. 22. I916. LQ2L215 Patented Apr. 3,1917. 7

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CHEST AND MEANS FOR LOOKING THE SAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 3, 1917.

Application filed August 22, 1916. Serial No. 116,269.

To all whom it may concern:

. Ile'it known that I, GIOVANNI PULLARA,

a subject of the King of Italy, and a resident of Pueblo, in the county of Pueblo and State of Colorado, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Chests and Means for Looking the Same, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention is a chest having a secret or hidden lock and a special locking means for said chest. The objects of my invention are; first, to provide a chest the locking means of which are entirely hidden from view and which requires a certain manipulation of the chest before the locking means are exposed; and, second to provide a trick lock the manner of operation of which shall not be obvious even when exposed. Further and more particular objects and advantages of my invention will later appear for specification.

In the two sheets of drawings accompanying this application and forming a part hereof:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the chest in open position;

Fig. 2 is a broken away front elevation of the locking means on an enlarged scale, only a portion of the casing for the locking means being shown in this figure;

Fig. 3 is a perspective of the removable front section of the chest;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but with all of the casing around the lock of the mechanism proper removed and showing the key in position;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the key; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the base and chest bottom only, the latter being shown in its forward position.

Referring to the drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, my device comprises a base 10 on which rests the chest proper. This chest comprises a bottom 11, end walls 12, a. rear wall 13, a front wall 14, and a top 15. The top is hinged to the rear wall 52 13 by any desired type of hinges 16. The bottom 11 is provided with slots 17 and is thereby slidably mounted on the base 10 to which it is secured by the screws 18 whose heads are larger than the slots 17. The

I p front 14 of the chest is provided with surface ornamentation in the shape of beads 19 or the like, in order not to attract attention to a movable section 20 which has a configuration similar to the beads 19.

By removing the section 20, which is slidably mounted in the front 14 by means of flanges 21 which fit in corresponding grooves in said front, the location of the locking means is discovered, as shown in Fig. 1. This locking means may be onthe interior of the chest as shown or mortised into the front 14 as preferred and comprises a casing 22 in which is adapted to slide a locking bar 23, said bar being held at one limit of its travel by the compression spring 24 which projects through the casing 22 and abuts against the end 12 of the chest and which spring is adapted to be compressed to permit the bar 23 to have a travel to the right in Figs. 2 and 4. The bar 23 has in its upper face open topped recesses 26 which are so shaped as to leave tongues 27 on the upper edge of the bar. The cover 15 of the chest is provided with eyes 28 adapted when the cover is closed to encircle the tongues 27 and thus lock the cover securely to the body portion.

The casing 22 is provided with key shaped opening 30 and with a horizontal slot communicating with the upper end of the key opening. A gate 31 which is pivoted on a screw or pin 32 serves when in closed position to conceal saidhorizontal slot in the casing. .This gate may be formed as shown as a portion of the chest front 14, or as a portion of the casing 22, or both if desired. Its appearance should preferably be such, however, as to conceal its existence as much as may be. There is an opening 33 in the bar 23 so placed as to be concealed by the gate when the latter. is in closed position.

V Operation.

Assuming the chest to be closed and in locked position, it is opened as follows:

The section 20, which is a trifle longer than the height of the front 14, is pushed up into the recess 34 in the cover so that said section, which normally locks the chest to the base, no longer engages the notch or recess 35 in the base. Then the chest proper is slipped forward on the base, as indicated in Fig. 6, then the section 20 may be slipped from place by passing down in front of the base. This exposes the lock mechanism. The pivoted gate 31 may then be reached with a finger and swung forward, as indicated in Fig. '1, to expose the horizontal slot in the casing 22. The key 36 is then in-r troduced through the key hole 30.' The key may now be turned in a clockwise direction to enable it'to be slipped along. the horizontal recess. or slot in 22 until its round end portion 37 is in position to enter the correspondingly shaped opening33 in the bar 23. The key is then inserted in the opening '33 and used as lever for pushing the bar 23 to the right until the eyes 28 are liberated,

when the cover may be raised. The operation o-f'locking the chest is the reverse of that described.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

'1.' In a device of the class described, a

base,fa chest comprising a bottom, side and end walls, and acover hinged to one of said walls, said chest being slidably mounted on said base to rest entirely thereon in normal position but to permit its front wall to project beyond said base in opening, adjustment,

a vertically sliding section in said front wall,

and said base whereby said chest in normal position rests entirely on said base and the front wall thereof projects beyond said base in opening. adjustment, a Vertically sliding section in said front wall which section is slightly longer than the height of said front wall and is adapted to be received into either of. said recesses, and a cover locking means concealed behind said vertically sliding section.

3. In a device of the class described, a locking means comprising a horizontally reciprocating locking bar, a casing therefor, a key opening in said casing having a slot formed as a continuation thereof, a pivoted gate normally concealing said slot, and a key adapted toengage said bar through said slot to reciprocate said bar.

, V 4:- In a device of the class described, a base prising a horizontally reciprocating locking bar, a casing therefor, a key opening in said casing havlng a slot formed as a continuationthereof, a pivoted gate normally concea ling said slot and a key adapted to engage said bar through said slot to reciprocate said bar.

' 5. In combination with a chest having a secret removable section, locking means for said chest hidden from view by said removable section when said section is in place, saidlocking means comprising a key hole formed with a slot extension, and a pivoted gate normally concealing said slot.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

7 GIOVAN PULLARA.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by aailressing the Commissioner of Iatents. Washington, D. 0. 

